Dick Van Dyke: First American James Bond?

[USS Firefly]

Timothy Dalton has entered the chat...

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I agree, I felt that a lot of what Craig did Dalton did first.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

James Brolin and Ashton Kutcher as well.....

Brolin, at least, was actually hired.

 

[Owain Taggart]

A Felix Leiter spinoff seems the obvious option there.

Although I think there were failed attempts to develop film spinoffs for a couple of Bond-film female leads, including Halle Berry and Michelle Yeoh. The latter strikes me as a hell of a missed opportunity. I mean, who needs James Bond when you've got Michelle Yeoh?

Yeah, I remember hearing about all those. And Michelle Yeoh has only become more expensive due to her Oscar wins.

And seeing as Bond is a British spy played by British actors, if the franchise wants an American actor, it makes sense if it were a spinoff based on a Bond counterpart rather than Bond himself.

 

[FredH]

Personally, I can't picture Dick Van Dyke as Bond. At all.

While I can’t square Van Dyke’s usual nice friendly TV persona (or his version of a British accent) with Bond, if you just look at his features and imagine that face but cold and focused — yeah, I could see it. He does have the “angularity” (as Colin Salmon did, when his name seemed to make the rounds as a possibility); it’s just that he’d have to carry himself in a manner we’re not used to seeing him in.

 

[Christopher]

I'm trying to think if I've ever seen Van Dyke play a hard-edged character or a villain. I think his Columbo appearance may have fit the bill.

 

[comsol]

After giving it some thought, I think that Van Dyke - if he could master the accent - could have made a credible Bond; however, I'm one of the people who think that Bond should be played by a British - or at least a Commonwealth - actor. Personally I think - after recently re-watching the Return of the Pink Panther - that Christopher Plummer could have made a good Bond.

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I said it before in the 'James Bond' thread that if one wants to get an idea of what a Burt Reynolds 'James Bond' would have been like, look no further than this scene from the 1969 movie 'Impasse'.

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[The Salt Umpire]

I have an old friend who insists his favorite Bond was Lazenby.

Personally, my own favorite Bond wasn't Bond at all: James Coburn as Derek ("Repeat after me: I am not a pleasure unit") Flint.

The two Flint films were great! A wonderful satire of secret agents.